Seventy-Eight Weeks

The last days were hard for Lena’s security system. Eve recognized several tries of hacker activity located from the DEO. They were able to shut them out everytime. One day when Lena enjoyed the cool wind in the morning, she spotted J'onn hovering above the area, searching for something.

She was sure she was 'the something' he was looking for. 

She went inside fast and faced a very stressed Jess in front of her. “Ms. Luthor, Ms. Arias tried to call you and… I guess it’s important.” She showed towards the TV and the news headline wrote in big red letters: ‘SUPERGIRL MISSING FOR 3 DAYS. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HER OPPONENT.’ 

Lena felt like throwing up. Her hands started shaking and her breath stuck in her lungs. The rush in her ears didn’t allow her to hear anything else afar from the news or Jess anymore.

Everything started to made sense now. Her mind was already painting pictures of several horror scenes of Kara being hurt or worse. 

Jess tried again, carefully: “Ms Luthor, do you want me to call her back?” Even the tough Jess was shaken up. She didn’t know where to put herself. Before she could answer anything, Sam called her again and pulled Lena out of her stupor. 

She moved her phone to her ear rapidly and didn’t said anything. 

Sam started, her voice hurried and worried: “Lena hey. I… don’t know what to say. Something… happened to Kara.” She let out a big sigh.

 Lena looked at Jess with big horrified eyes. Eve also came closer with slow steps, brows furrowed. “what exactly happened?” 

Sam: “I can't tell you honestly. Alex called me and begged me to reach out for you. She… was devastated and crying. I guess it’s serious.” 

Lena breathed out through her nose while trying to keep her emotions together. “I’ll take care. Thank you Sam. Bye.” 

She grabbed her phone tightly and was shocked. No one dared to say a word before Lena does.

A minute of shock passed when she said with a shaking voice: “Eve? Get me my Portalwatch. Both of you, pack some stuff you’re on holidays. We’ll go back to National City.” Both nodded with seriousness but no one moved. 

Lena was so scared that she almost lost it and she shouted: “MOVE NOW!” Both ran up the stairs and hurried, while Lena grabbed some stuff for herself. 

She firstly programmed the watch to bring both women to their homes. She needed to make a promise to Eve to let her know if it’s something she could help with. There was less than a half an hour now since they got the news.  

Lena took a deep breath and programmed the watch to the DEO, stepped through it and was in the main hall, surrounded by DEO-Agents aiming at her.

She heard shouting from the Medbay. It was Alex voice, clearly terrified: “BRAINY PLEASE FOR ONCE! THIS IS MY SISTER HERE. WE NEED TO GET HER OUT!” She heard J'onn intervene: “Agent Danvers calm down. We’ll find a way.”

The DEO Agents were still aiming at Lena, but she feared nothing. Instead she said in a strong voice: “Agent Danvers asked for my help, let her know Lena Luthor is here.”

The Agents were eying each other and one of them finally moved to contact Alex.

The shouting of the Medbay became silent immediately and Lena recognized fast footsteps towards her.

 Nia, Brainy, J'onn and Alex ran around the corner and looked at her with big and unbelieving eyes, like she was a ghost and no one thought she would come. Nia was the first who was able to fight the overwhelming feeling and ran to her, a big smile on her face and embraced her stormingly, which Lena gave back with a sigh. A soft smile on her lips. She missed her. If she was honest she missed everyone of them.

Alex looked around the Agents, still aiming at her and shouted angry: “Put the damn guns down. It’s Lena, you are aware of her. And move. Everyone do your job!” They let their guns down and everyone got back to their job.

Everyone else was approaching her, even Brainy hugged her and murmured: “you need to tell me everything about your security system.” The last one was Alex. Her face stoic but with teary eyes, breathing in deeply and slow steps towards Lena. She didn’t know she held her breath until she felt strong arms around her body and Alex sobbing in her arms.

 She didn’t expected these emotions. Alex let her guard down in front of everyone. Lena knew it was serious. A few moments later, they let go of each other. Alex still searching her face as she would be afraid she would fade away again. Stating with a teary voice: “Thank you so much for coming Lena. I… still can’t believe you came.” 

Oh Lena hat a soft spot for the older Danvers sister. They might had their differences but she cared about her deeply. 

She was afraid to asked the undeniable question. She was to afraid to hear the answer. But still, she took a deep breath and asked: “Where is she?” Alex nodded shortly and answered: “in the Medbay. You’re probably the only one who will be able to bring her back.” Her voice broke again, Lena felt her own body shaking, not able to say something to answer. 

All of them moved towards the Medbay and there laid Kara, in her Supersuit, under 5 sunlamps. Every sunlamp irradiated every part of her. Lena moved closer, her eyes stinging of unshed tears.

The vision got blurred more and more, each step. Nobody said a word, when Lena approached her. She recognized a thing on her chest, a thing with red tentacles which is connected to her heart. 

“What… the hell is that?” was her first question. Brainy stepped beside her, answering in a compassionate tone: “4days ago, she was attacked through a portal. This thing on her chest is called Black Mercy. It merged with her and we can’t pull her out.” 

Lena was shocked, not expecting THAT. She furrowed her brows, still looking at that thing: “You can’t pull her out of what? Isn’t there a way to separate them?” Alex came closer, desperately: “We tried to separate them. It almost killed Kara.”

Brainy invented: “This thing is like a parasite. It lives and feeds from his host, Kara is in a comatose state right know, the Black Mercy is tricking her by playing her perfect paradise in her mind. All that she wished from the depth of her heart is happening there. I projected Alex into her mind, but she… wasn’t able to get her back.” 

While listening, Lena grabbed Kara’s hand softly, brushing her thumb across the back of her hand. She looked so peaceful. Her next question was more of  a statement than a question: “She’s probably back at Krypton, with her family right?”

Alex shook her head tenderly: “No. It’s nothing like Krypton. Her perfect fantasy is on earth with her loved ones. But yes I guess her Parents and Astra are alive. I didn’t made it that far until she shut me out.” 

Lena became  emotional and angry at the same time: “. “So we have to pull her out of her perfect world? The world Kara deserves?Where she’s finally carefree and free?”

Everyone was silent. Thinking about this words. Brainy looked at her, serious: “Kara is dying. Counting to my calculations, we have less than 30 hours to get her back. At this moment she’s only still alive because of her kryptonian blood. A human being would be already dead long ago.”

The feeling of Adrenalin rushing through her veins was the only thing she felt. She was sure Kara would be scared if she would heard her heartbeat in this moment. Kara is dying. Dying. She will be erased from this earth and every other universe.

“No.. no no. This can’t be. She’s Supergirl! Who did this to her?! What….” She grabbed to Kara’s hand for her dear life now. Looking helplessly to Brainy and Alex, furious. “What can I do, if Alex wasn’t able to pull her out?”

Alex became nervous, Lena can tell, and squirmed her shirt with her hands. Was she hiding something? She said: “You are the only one who can give her hope back. You need to tell her what she will lose if she don’t fight it. That she’ll lose us. And most importantly she’ll lose you forever.”

Lena furrowed her brows, swallowing hard. “I an giving her hope? But she’s the reincarnation of hope. What happened?”

Alex smiled painfully: “She became different since you left. The Kara you’ve known died. She was so depressed and hurt and lost everything she was fighting for.” Lena blinked her tears away, anger bubbling up. “So you’re telling me that everything is my fault now?”

Alex shook her head rapidly, approaching her, grabbing her shoulders softly: “No absolutely not. Look, I don’t know what happened between the two of you. Kara never told me. But as I know her perfect paradise, I can tell it’s something personal between you. That’s why it was easy for her to shut me out. I’m not exaggerating if I say that you’ll the only one who can get her back.”

This soothed Lena a little, but made her more worried about Kara. they definitely needed to get professional help at some point. She clenched her teeth hardly and looked to Brainy: “ok I’m ready. How do we do it?”

Brainy smiled softly and said: “there is one more thing. You can die while you’re in there. Are you willing to take the risk?” Lena laughed shortly truly overwhelmed from the whole situation. “What a question. The world needs Supergirl. The world… I need Kara. How do I know how much time is left?”

Alex looked like she was about to burst out in tears again. Hearing those caring words about Kara, after not seeing each other for 1 and a half years.

Brainy, more rational, less emotional: “I’ll come and get you out when it’s time. If there is anything that’s scaring you, or when you’re feeling strange or feeling that Black Mercy is consuming you, say it out loud and I’ll get you back earlier. The important thing is also: to vanish everything of it, Kara needs to be willing to erase her perfect paradise.”

Lena took a deep breath, packed her emotions in her mind boxes and nodded  “Ok, then let’s start. We’re running out of time.”

Brainy arranged everything and the next thing Lena knew was her, waking up in Kara’s perfect paradise.

Tbc...